Ever Been to Hermiston?

Rainbow of Lilies

I hadn't been there either, until last weekend. Hermiston is in north-eastern Oregon - the farming part of Oregon - not the tree-packed part that most people associate with Oregon. I drove there from Utah to visit my daughter and son-in-law, who moved to Hermiston in early June with his new job. He's an irrigation engineer, and in this post, you'll see why this is the perfect place for his work.

Holly and I got up early one morning and went out exploring the country with our cameras. The picture above is of a gigantic field of lilies. Look at the rainbow of colors! In the back, you can see the irrigation pivots spraying away. We think the grower harvests the lily bulbs.

We came across a blueberry farm, too, with berries almost ripe and ready to pick...

 

It was so hard not to reach out and pick a handful. (But I'd heard from Holly that the owner is very protective of his berries.)

Then down a dirt road we went and found a group of horses who were friendly enough to come our way and pose for some snaps.

They were quite photogenic with all their colors and patterns!

This beauty with her platinum mane came right up close to munch on a bush nearby. I wanted so badly to shoe away the pesky flies from her face! How annoying. Flies...be gone!

It's a wonder to me how farmers can grow such perfect crops, when they are planted in such huge fields. I seem to have the hardest time just growing a few seeds in my little backyard garden...with all the tender care I can muster!

Morning really is the BEST time to take pictures. Here it is about 9 am, and look how high the sun is in the sky already. That's Hermiston for you. Holly says it seems to get light at 4 am! Maybe that's one of the reasons this area is so great for growing.

Looking back over these photos, I get the same feeling I had when I took them. A feeling of exciting discovery mixed with the comfy peace I feel out in the quiet country with the sun welcoming a new day.

And now for some more livestock. Let me just say that they are quite friendly in Hermiston, for the most part, anyway. I really wanted to take some pictures of the belted cows, but they refused to come out and pose for me, like they did for Holly.

But I did make some new livestock friends by the side of the road. I don't know what these cows are called, but the mommas have horns! Yep, these horned cows were nursing their babies! Obviously, I don't know much about cows. I always thought horns meant male. Oh well.

And I leave you with my country self-portrait.

Next, I'm planning to do a post of the flora and fauna I discovered while hiking in the Columbia River Gorge area of Oregon...a completely opposite landscape from Hermiston country! Stay tuned. ~CJ~